Adjustable shelf system

ABSTRACT

An adjustable shelving system is disclosed wherein each support post includes a plurality of slots based vertically along the support post. The shelving system also includes one or more collars slidably received over the support post. The collars include cleats which are received in the slots to secure the collar in a vertical position. To disengage the collar or cleat of the collar from a slot, the collar is slid upwards thereby releasing the cleat of the collar from the slot then, upon rotation of the collar, the collar can be slid axially along the support post to a new, desired location. Then, with the cleat of the collar disposed slightly vertically above a new desired slot, the collar is rotated back so that the cleat is in alignment with the slot and then slid downward to engage the cleat in the new slot at the new, desired location. The collar either directly or indirectly supports a shelf. Thus, an adjustable shelving system is disclosed that requires no hand tools when adjusting the vertical position of the one or more shelves.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) ofU.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/434,469 filed Dec. 18,2002, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] An adjustable shelving system is disclosed. More specifically, anadjustable shelving system is disclosed wherein collars are used todirectly or indirectly support a shelf are slidably received oncylindrical support posts. The support posts include slots or groovesspaced axially along the support post. The slots accommodate a cleatdisposed on an inner surface of the collar. To adjust the height of acollar, and therefore a shelf, the cleat, and therefore the collar, maybe easily disengaged from a slot by simply applying upward pressure onthe collar which results in easy disengagement of the cleat from theslot due to the design of both components. The collar is then rotatedslightly and slid along the support post until the collar is disposedslightly above the next desired slot. The collar is then rotated untilthe cleat is in alignment with the desired slot and slid downwardresulting in engagement of the cleat in the slot. The shelf and/or othersupporting apparatus may then be replaced.

BACKGROUND OF THE RELATED ART

[0003] Adjust shelving systems are known. This disclosure is directedtoward freestanding shelving systems with elongated cylindrical supportposts. The support posts are equipped with a plurality of collarsfastened or secured to the support post at discreet vertical locations.The collars then either directly or indirectly support a shelf.

[0004] With previous designs, in order to adjust the vertical positionof a shelf, the shelf must first be removed or freed from the collars,typically by applying upward force to the shelf with a first or mallet.Then, to adjust the position of the collars, the collars must either bypried away from the support post using a screw driver or other pryingtool before the collar can be relocated to the next desired position.Other collars are secured to the support posts with a plurality of pins.The pins must be removed with a pair of pliers or other suitable tool.

[0005] Thus, in the currently available designs, hand tools in the formof mallets, screw drivers, other prying tools and/or pliers are requiredto adjust the position of the shelf. Further, because the designs of theprevious collars require a substantial amount of force or strength tomake vertical adjustments, the adjustment procedure is cumbersome due tothe fact that there are at least four collars and four support posts tosupport a single shelf. Thus, the cumbersome procedure used to adjustthe vertical position of a collar must be repeated four times.

[0006] Accordingly, there is a need for an improved freestandingadjustable shelving system which provides for faster and easier shelfheight adjustment and without the need for hand tools or other specialtools.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0007] An adjustable shelving system is disclosed which comprises acollar and a cylindrical support post. The support post comprises atleast two slots disposed on an outer surface thereof and spaced axiallyalong the support post. Each slot comprises a lower horizontal surfacethat extends through the outer surface of the support post a firstdepth. Each slot extends upward from its lower horizontal surface andtapers outward to the outer surface of the support post so that an upperdistal end of each slot is at least substantially flush with the outersurface of the support post.

[0008] The collar comprising a cylindrical body slidably received overthe support post. The collar extends substantially around the supportpost and terminates in two free ends with a gap disposed therebetween.The body of the collar further comprises a radially outwardly extendingflange and a radially inwardly extending cleat. The cleat of the collaris received in one of the slots of the support post so that the cleatengages the lower horizontal surface of one of the slots therebyproviding vertical support for the collar and a shelf. The collar ismovable along the support post by applying upward pressure on the collarto slide the cleat upwards off of the lower horizontal surface of theslot and past the distal end of the slot.

[0009] In a refinement, the cleat comprises a lower horizontal end thatextends radially inwardly from the body of the collar a first distanceless than or equal to the first depth of each lower horizontal surfaceof each slot.

[0010] In a refinement, the cleat further comprises an inner surface theextends upward from the lower horizontal surface of the cleat to anupper distal end that is at least substantially flush with an innersurface of the body of the collar.

[0011] In a refinement, each slot further comprises an inner wallextending from the lower horizontal surface to the upper distal end ofthe slot. In this refinement, the inner wall is concave.

[0012] In a refinement, the cleat comprises a lower horizontal end thatextends radially inwardly from the body of the collar and an innersurface that extends upward from the lower horizontal surface of thecleat to an upper distal end that is at least substantially flush withan inner surface of the body of the collar. In this refinement, theinner surface of the cleat is convex so that it mateably engages theconcave inner wall of the slot in the support post as discussed above.

[0013] In a refinement, the shelving system further comprises a end capthat surrounds the body of the collar and that is supported by theflange of the collar and a shelf is supported by the end cap. In thisrefinement, the end cap comprises a annular body with a central openingreceived over the body of the collar and a lower end that is supportedby the flange of the collar. The body of the end cap is connected to ahorizontal body with an opening for receiving the shelf.

[0014] In a refinement, the support post comprises at least two pairs ofslots vertically spaced apart along the support post, each slot isdisposed diametrically opposite the support post from the other slot ofits respective pair. The collar further comprises a pair of cleats. Eachcleat is disposed diametrically opposite the body of the collar from theother cleat mounted on each of four support posts. In a refinement, eachcollar supports an end cap as described above and the end caps are usedto accommodate or support a shelf.

[0015] In a further refinement, the annular bodies of two end caps canbe connected to a single horizontal body that extends between front andrear support posts. Thus, a four support post system with four collarsand four end caps may include only two horizontal bodies with opposingopenings that extend from front to rear end posts. The shelf may then beeasily slide into the openings of the horizontal bodies after thevertical adjustment has been made.

[0016] In another refinement, the support post may further comprise endcaps or collars that are not adjustable. In such a refinement, ahorizontal groove may be disposed around the support post which receivesa radially inwardly extending rib disposed on an inner surface of an endcap or collar to thereby fix the end cap or collar in place. Thisrefinement would be particularly suitable for a top shelf and/or abottom shelf where no vertical adjustment is desired.

[0017] A method for adjusting the vertical height of a shelf is alsodisclosed wherein the shelf is first removed from engagement with acollar and/or end cap. The end cap is then slid upward to release thecleat from engagement with the slot. The collar is then rotated, lessthan one full rotation or 360°, preferably about 10°, and then thecollar can be moved vertically to a point where the cleat and/or collaris disposed slightly vertically above the desired slot. The collar isthen rotated back so the cleat is in alignment with the slot and thenslide downward to engage the cleat in the slot. The end cap and/or shelfmay then be replaced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The disclosed apparatuses and methods are described more or lessdiagrammatically in the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0019]FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a support post and anadjustable collar;

[0020]FIG. 2 is a partial plan and sectional view of the support postand collar of FIG. 1;

[0021]FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the support post and collar ofFIG. 1;

[0022]FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of a support post, collar, endcap and shelf of the disclosed adjustable shelving system;

[0023]FIG. 5 is a partial plan and sectional view of a support post, twonon-adjustable end caps and shelves and two adjustable collars, end capsand shelves of one disclosed adjustable shelving system; and

[0024]FIG. 6 is a partial plan and sectional view of a support post, twonon-adjustable end caps and shelves and three adjustable collars, endcaps and shelves of another embodiment of a disclosed adjustableshelving system.

[0025] It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily toscale and that the embodiments are illustrated by phantom lines,diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In certaininstances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of thedisclosed apparatuses and method or which render other details difficultto perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course,that this disclosure is not limited to the particular embodimentsillustrated herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a support post 10 and collar 11.The support post 10 includes an outer surface 12 that includes aplurality of slots 13. Each slot 13 includes a lower horizontal surface14 that supports a cleat 15 (see FIG. 2) disposed on an inner surface ofthe collar 11. The collar 11 also includes a cylindrical body 16connected to a radially outwardly extending flange 17 at its lower end.The flange 17 is used to support an end cap 18 or a shelf 19 (see FIG.4).

[0027] Turning to FIG. 2, in the embodiment of the support post 10shown, the support post 10 includes three pairs of slots 13. Each pairof slots 13 are disposed diametrically opposite the support post 10 fromone another as shown. Consequently, the collar 11 also includes twocleats 15, also disposed diametrically opposite one another on the body16 of the collar 11. The body 16 of the collar 11 is not completelycylindrical, but includes free ends 22, 23 with a gap 24 disposedtherebetween. As a result, when removing the collar 11 from the slots 13as shown in FIG. 2 to either slots 13 disposed above or below theposition shown in FIG. 2, the collar 11 can be pushed upward allowingthe inner surfaces 25 of the cleats 15 to slide against the inner walls26 of the slots 13 and, as this happens, the collar 11 expands radiallyoutwardly thereby enlarging the gap 24 or the distance between the freeends 22, 23. It will also be noted that the collar 11, in the positionshown in FIG. 2, is supported by engagement of the lower horizontalsurfaces 27 of the cleats 15 against the lower horizontal surfaces 14 ofthe slots 13.

[0028] Turning to FIG. 3, in the embodiment disclosed, the slots 13 areshown with convex inner walls 26. As the convex inner wall 26 extendsupward from the lower horizontal surface 14, the side edges 28, 29extend toward each other and terminate at an upper distal end 32 that,as shown in FIG. 2, is flush with or substantially flush with the outersurface 12 of the support post 10.

[0029] Turning to FIG. 4, an end cap 18 and shelf 19 are alsoillustrated with a support post 10 and collar 11. As shown in FIG. 4,the collar 11 is secured in place on the support post 10 by engagementof the cleats 15 in the slots 13. The lower horizontal surfaces 27 ofthe cleats 15 engage and are supported by the lower horizontal surfaces14 of the slots 13. The body 16 of the collar 11 is disposed within acylindrical opening of the end cap 18. The end cap 18 is supported bythe lower radially outwardly extending flange 17 of the collar 11. Theend cap 18 includes an essentially cylindrical body 33 that is connectedto a horizontal body 34. The horizontal body 34 of the end cap 18includes a horizontal opening which accommodates the shelf 19 as shown.

[0030] As noted above, for a freestanding four support post shelfsystem, separate end caps 18 may be utilized for each collar 11.However, the cylindrical bodies 13 of each end cap 18 may, consequently,be connected to another end cap 18 by a horizontal body 34 that extendsbetween end caps. Thus, two end caps 18 may “share” a horizontal body 34and, to insert a shelf 19 in place, the shelf 19 would be slide alongwith inner cavity provided by the horizontal body 34.

[0031] Turning to FIG. 5, a support post 10 a is illustrated withnon-adjustable shelves 19 a and adjustable shelves 19. Specifically,circumferential grooves 35 are disposed at the upper and lower ends ofthe support post 10 a. These grooves 35 accommodate a radially inwardlyextending rib 36 of the modified end caps 18 a. In this variation, nocollar 11 is required. The support post 10 a supports the end caps 18 awhich, in turn, support the shelves 19 a as shown in FIG. 5. Incontrast, the middle shelves shown at 19 are adjustable as they aresupported by collars 11 and end caps 18 as discussed above and thesupport post 10 a includes a plurality of slots 13 to adjust thevertical spacing of the shelves 19 as discussed above.

[0032] Yet another variation is illustrated in FIG. 6. Non-adjustableshelves are shown at 19 a while adjustable shelves are shown at 19. Theupper most shelf 19 a is supported by an end cap 18 a which, in turn, isheld in place via the circumferential groove 35 and rib 36 as discussedabove in connection with FIG. 5. An identical arrangement is shown forthe middle non-adjustable shelf 19 a. However, the bottom non-adjustableshelf 19 a is supported by an end cap 18 a that rests on the ground 41or is trapped between the ground 41 and the over hanging ledge 42disposed in the support post 10 b.

[0033] It will also be noted that the shelves 19, 19 a may be secured inplace in their respective end caps 18, 18 a by a locking tab, pin, bolt,shaft or other fastening mechanism. Preferably, the collars 11 arefabricated from plastic or other sturdy, but pliable material. Somespring steels will be suitable.

[0034] Thus, an adjustable shelving system is disclosed whereby thevertical height of the shelves may be adjusted without resorting to handtools or other similar devices. The slope of the inner walls 26 of theslots radially outward as they extend upward from the lower horizontalservices 14 in combination with the slope of the inner surfaces 25 ofthe cleats 15 as they extend upward from the lower horizontal surfaces27 of the cleats 15 in combination with the free ends 22, 23 and gaps 24in the body 16 of the collar 11 enables the collar to be easily removedfrom any locked position and, upon slight rotation, further permits thecollar to be slid upward or downward along the support post 10 to a newposition. Easy downward movement of a collar 11 once its cleats 15 arepositioned above corresponding slots, results in the collars 11 beingeasily locked back into place in a new position on the support posts 10.

[0035] While embodiments with four support posts are disclosed, thisdisclosure is also applicable to systems with one, two, three or morethan four support posts.

What is claimed:
 1. An adjustable shelving system comprising: acylindrical support post, the support post comprising at least two slotsdisposed on an outer surface thereof and spaced axially along thesupport post, each slot comprising a lower horizontal surface thatextends through the outer surface of the support post a first depth,each slot extending upward from its lower horizontal surface andtapering outward to the outer surface of the support post so that anupper distal end of each slot is at least substantially flush with theouter surface of the support post, a collar comprising a cylindricalbody slidably received over the support post, the collar extendingsubstantially around the support post and terminating in two free endswith a gap disposed therebetween, the body of the collar furthercomprising a radially outwardly extending flange and a radially inwardlyextending cleat, the cleat of the collar being received in one of theslots of the support post so that the cleat engages the lower horizontalsurface of one of the slots, the collar being movable along the supportpost by upward pressure on the collar to slide the cleat upwards off ofthe lower horizontal surface of the slot and past the distal end of theslot.
 2. The shelving system of claim 1 wherein the cleat comprises alower horizontal end that extends radially inwardly from the body of thecollar a first distance less than or equal to the first depth of eachlower horizontal surface of each slot.
 3. The shelving system of claim 2wherein the cleat further comprises an inner surface the extends upwardfrom the lower horizontal surface of the cleat to an upper distal endthat is at least substantially flush with an inner surface of the bodyof the collar.
 4. The shelving system of claim 1 wherein each slotfurther comprises an inner wall extending from the lower horizontalsurface to the upper distal end of the slot, the inner wall beingconcave.
 5. The shelving system of claim 4 wherein the cleat comprises alower horizontal end that extends radially inwardly from the body of thecollar and an inner surface that extends upward from the lowerhorizontal surface of the cleat to an upper distal end that is at leastsubstantially flush with an inner surface of the body of the collar, theinner surface of the cleat being convex.
 6. The shelving system of claim1 further comprising a end cap that surrounds the body of the collar andthat is supported by the flange of the collar.
 7. The shelving system ofclaim 6 further comprising a shelf that is supported by the end cap. 8.The shelving system of claim 7 wherein the end cap comprises a annularbody with a central opening received over the body of the collar and alower end that is supported by the flange of the collar, the body of theend cap being connected to a horizontal body with an opening forreceiving the shelf.
 9. The shelving system of claim 1 wherein thesupport post comprises at least two pairs of slots vertically spacedapart along the support post, each slot being disposed diametricallyopposite the support post from the other slot of its respective pair,the collar further comprising a pair of cleats, each cleat beingdisposed diametrically opposite the body of the collar from the othercleat.
 10. The shelving system of claim 9 wherein each cleat comprises alower horizontal end that extends radially inwardly from the body of thecollar a first distance less than or equal to the first depth of eachlower horizontal surface of each slot.
 11. The shelving system of claim10 wherein each cleat further comprises an inner surface the extendsupward from the lower horizontal surface of the cleat to an upper distalend that is at least substantially flush with an inner surface of thebody of the collar.
 12. The shelving system of claim 9 wherein each slotfurther comprises an inner wall extending from the lower horizontalsurface to the upper distal end of the slot, the inner wall beingconcave.
 13. The shelving system of claim 12 wherein each cleatcomprises a lower horizontal end that extends radially inwardly from thebody of the collar and an inner surface that extends upward from thelower horizontal surface of the cleat to an upper distal end that is atleast substantially flush with an inner surface of the body of thecollar, the inner surface of each cleat being convex.
 14. The shelvingsystem of claim 9 further comprising a end cap that surrounds the bodyof the collar and that is supported by the flange of the collar.
 15. Theshelving system of claim 14 further comprising a shelf that is supportedby the end cap.
 16. The shelving system of claim 15 wherein the end capcomprises a annular body with a central opening received over the bodyof the collar and a lower end that is supported by the flange of thecollar, the body of the end cap being connected to a horizontal bodywith an opening for receiving the shelf.
 17. An adjustable shelvingsystem comprising: four cylindrical support posts, each support postcomprising at least two slots disposed on an outer surface thereof andspaced axially along the support post, each slot comprising a lowerhorizontal surface that extends through the outer surface of the supportpost a first depth, each slot extending upward from its lower horizontalsurface and tapering outward to the outer surface of the support post sothat an upper distal end of each slot is at least substantially flushwith the outer surface of the support post, four collars with one collarmounted on each support post, each collar comprising a cylindrical bodyslidably received over its respective support post, each collarextending substantially around its respective support posts andterminating in two free ends with a gap disposed therebetween, the bodyof each collar further comprising a radially outwardly extending flangeand a radially inwardly extending cleat, each cleat of each collar beingreceived in one of the slots of its respective support post so that eachcleat engages the lower horizontal surface of one of the slots itsrespective support posts, each collar being movable along its respectivesupport post by upward pressure on the collar to slide the cleat upwardsoff of the lower horizontal surface of the slot and past the distal endof the slot.
 18. The shelving system of claim 17 wherein each cleatcomprises a lower horizontal end that extends radially inwardly from thebody of its respective collar a first distance less than or equal to thefirst depth of each lower horizontal surface of each slot.
 19. Theshelving system of claim 18 wherein each cleat further comprises aninner surface the extends upward from the lower horizontal surface ofthe cleat to an upper distal end that is at least substantially flushwith an inner surface of the body of its respective collar.
 20. Theshelving system of claim 17 wherein each slot further comprises an innerwall extending from the lower horizontal surface to the upper distal endof the slot, the inner wall being concave.
 21. The shelving system ofclaim 20 wherein each cleat comprises a lower horizontal end thatextends radially inwardly from the body of its respective collar and aninner surface that extends upward from the lower horizontal surface ofthe cleat to an upper distal end that is at least substantially flushwith an inner surface of the body of its respective collar, the innersurface of each cleat being convex.
 22. The shelving system of claim 17further comprising four end caps, each end cap being mounted over thebody of one of the collars and being supported by the flange of itsrespective collar.
 23. The shelving system of claim 22 furthercomprising a shelf that is supported by the end caps.
 24. The shelvingsystem of claim 23 wherein each end cap comprises a annular body with acentral opening received over the body of its respective collar and alower end that is supported by the flange of its respective collar, thebody of each end cap being connected to a horizontal body with anopening for receiving the shelf.
 25. The shelving system of claim 17wherein each support post comprises at least two pairs of slotsvertically spaced apart along the support post, each slot being disposeddiametrically opposite the support post from the other slot of itsrespective pair, each collar further comprising a pair of cleats, eachcleat being disposed diametrically opposite the body of the collar fromthe other cleat.
 26. A shelving system of claim 17 further comprising atleast four additional fixed collars non-adjustably secured to thesupport post.
 27. The shelving system of claim 26 further comprising ashelf fixably supported by the four additional fixed collars.
 28. Amethod for adjusting the height of a shelf of an adjustable shelvingsystem, the method comprising: providing a shelving system comprising acylindrical support post, the support post comprising at least two slotsdisposed on an outer surface thereof and spaced axially along thesupport post, each slot comprising a lower horizontal surface thatextends through the outer surface of the support post a first depth,each slot extending upward from its lower horizontal surface andtapering outward to the outer surface of the support post so that anupper distal end of each slot. is at least substantially flush with theouter surface of the support post, a collar comprising a cylindricalbody slidably received over the support post, the collar extendingsubstantially around the support post and terminating in two free endswith a gap disposed therebetween, the body of the collar furthercomprising a radially outwardly extending flange and a radially inwardlyextending cleat, the cleat of the collar being received in one of theslots of the support post so that the cleat engages the lower horizontalsurface of one of the slots; applying upward pressure to the collar toslide the cleat upwards off of the lower horizontal surface of said oneof the slots and past the distal end of said slot; rotating the collararound the support post less than 360°; moving the collar verticallyalong the support post until the cleat of the collar is disposedvertically above the other slot of the support post; rotating the collaruntil the cleat is in axial alignment with said other slot of thesupport post; applying downward pressure on the collar until the cleatengages the lower horizontal surface of the said other slot.
 29. Themethod of claim 28 wherein and end cap is mounted over the collar and issupported by the flange of the collar, and a shelf is supported by theend cap, the method further comprising: removing the shelf fromengagement with the end cap and removing the end cap from engagementwith the collar prior to applying upward pressure on the collar; andreplacing the end cap over the collar and replacing the shelf on the endcap after applying downward pressure on the collar.